Lawmakers blast Holder over failure to investigate IRS scandal

The New York Times and Associated Press said Wednesday that they will not attend a meeting this week between Attorney General Eric Holder and the Washington bureau chiefs of several media outlets to discuss guidelines for journalists in leak...

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During a hearing held by lawmakers in the U.S. House of Representatives on Tuesday, two congressmen blasted Attorney General Eric Holder for not investigating a serious leak to a major news organization regarding the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) targeting scandal.

DoJ

Rep. Bob Goodlatte, R-Va., who chairs the powerful House Judiciary Committee and and ranking Congressman Jim Jordan, R-Ohio, slammed Attorney General Holder for his department's failure to investigate the leak to the Wall Street Journal in January 2014 and criticized Holder and the Department of Justice for their lackluster investigation and lack of criminal charges related to the alleged targeting of conservative groups by the IRS's Director of Exempt Organizations Lois Lerner and her subordinates at the ultra-powerful tax collection agency.

During Tuesday's Judiciary Committee hearing on the Justice Department, Congressman Jordan asked the Attorney General if he or his investigators knew who leaked this information to the Wall Street Journal and if the Attorney General and DOJ plan to pursue the criminal prosecution

of the leaker when he or she is identified.

Attorney General Holder admitted that in the past his department pursued leaks of classified information but that he failed to probe the IRS leak.

According to political strategist Mike Baker, Holder's testimony confirmed the Obama White House strategy. "Obama's minions drag out an investigation until it appears no one is interested in getting answers. They do it by stonewalling, releasing misinformation and disinformation, and by slowly releasing the appropriate documents to congressional investigators," claims Baker.

"What truly helps the Democrats is the fact that the news media are helpful in creating disinterest and even confusion by publishing conflicting reports and news stories," Baker added, as evidenced in an Examiner report on previous Holder testimony.

“Over a year ago we learned that the IRS had been singling out certain conservative groups for further review as they applied for tax exempt status and today no one has yet been held accountable for this political plan to silence the voices of groups representing millions of Americans," complained Chairman Goodlatte.

"Conservative groups across the nation, including groups in the Sixth District of Virginia, were impacted by this targeting, resulting in lengthy paperwork requirements, prying questions, and delays in their applications," he added.

Rep. Jordan's complaint was even harsher:

“[T]he same Attorney General who touts that his office has investigated ‘more leaks than any other past administration’ and who claims to want to protect every shred of information of an ongoing investigation said that he has not looked into who leaked information about the ongoing IRS scandal to the media. This leak allowed potential witnesses like Ms. Lerner to rest assured that they would not face criminal charges for their actions. Mr. Holder’s testimony further proves that ‘the fix is in’ and his so-called IRS investigation is nothing but a sham.”

"As has been reported several times in the mainstream news media, while Holder claims there's actually an FBI investigation into the 'IRS targeting' scandal, not one of the leaders of the dozens of groups targeted by the IRS were interviewed by Holder's or the FBI's investigators," said former law enforcement officer, Nicholas Mianopoulos.

"Isn't that one of the first things -- if not the first thing -- a good investigator does? Interview the alleged victims or complaining witnesses?" Mianopoulos noted.

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Jim Kouri, CPP, the fifth Vice President and Public Information Officer of the National Association of Chiefs of Police, has served on the National Drug Task Force and trained police and security officers throughout the country. Contact Jim. What others are saying about Jim Kouri: Semana.com picked up an article Jim wrote about the FARC guerrillas being charged with conspiracy.

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